Jazz HC Talks Kris Dunn's Ejection, Why Celtics Game Got 'Chippy'

The Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics got a little chippy on Friday night.

In the Utah Jazz's 122-114 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night, things got a little chippy. The officials saw where things might be headed and warned the players that even chirping too much could result in a technical foul.

That's exactly what happened when Jazz point guard Kris Dunn got ejected in the second half after a verbal altercation with Blake Griffin. After the game, Jazz head coach Will Hardy addressed the intensity of the night's competition. 

“I’m all for the fight. I’m not for fighting, that’s not what I said," Hardy remarked post-game. "I said, ‘I’m all for the fight.’ There’s moments in sports where it is chippy and guys get tangled up and guys start chirping and I’m glad that our team doesn’t back down. Obviously, can we do it and maintain focus and not have it turn into something that ends up costing you the game? I didn’t think it cost us the game today, but we’ve seen situations around the league where those incidents ultimately do cost you the game because multiple people get thrown and you just kind of lose your cool totally."

Hardy sent a message to his locker room that he was proud of the way the Jazz fought against an elite team on the road in a situation where things did start getting chippy. The Jazz didn't back down, and Hardy liked that. 

"I’m not disappointed by our team tonight at all," Hardy said. "I thought they had backbone. They fought, they didn’t back down. The game got chippy. Both teams were a little bit chippy. Nobody was dirty in any way. That’s just a hard-fought, competitive NBA game.'

On the subject of Dunn's ejection, Hardy understands that in the heat of battle, emotions can run high. In Dunn's case, he likely regrets those extra words that saw the refs 86 him from competition. But keep it in context; it's not like he threw hands. 

"Kris gets thrown out of the game but as a player, I understand that sometimes the emotions get the best of you," Hardy said. "He didn’t throw a punch. He didn’t do anything outrageous. He just kept the talk going."

The Jazz saw five players reach double-digit scoring, led by Talen Horton-Tucker's 28 points. Walker Kessler chipped in 20 points with three blocked shots. 

Meanwhile, the Celtics went three-crazy, finishing with six double-digit scorers, led by Jayson Tatum's 39 points. Utah's Achilles heel, once again, was its turnover problem. The Jazz gave the ball away 18 times and it's hard to win on the road that way, especially against an elite opponent. 

But the Celtics are competing for an NBA championship, and that's where Hardy wants the Jazz to be in the not-too-distant future. 

"We want to be a team that is actively hunting a championship and contending for a championship and I really believe that’s where we’re headed," Hardy said. 

The Jazz fell to 36-41 on the season. Sitting at the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference, it seems the Jazz have run out of runway when it comes to angling for the playoffs. That's what happens when a team shuts down more than half of its starting lineup down the stretch. 

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